Current conducting rotatable airflow coupling for a vacuum cleaner



Sept. 30, 1969 F. DOWNEY 3, 7

CURRENT CONDUC G ROTATABLE AIRFLOW COUPLING FOR A VACUUM CLEANER FiledSept. 22, 19s? 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR.

' Dav/0 i. Down/5y bt. '30 1969 o. F. DOWNEY I I 3 .470, 52 1 CURRENTCONDUCTING ROTATABLE AIRFLOW COUPLING FOR A VACUUM CLEANER Fil ed Sept.22, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet v INVENTOR. DH v10 F Downs) m5 [ATTORNEY Sept.30, 1969 o. F. 'DOWNEY- 3,470,521

CURRENT CONDUCTING ROTATABLE AIRFLOW COUPLING FOR A VACUUM CLEANER FiledSept. 22, 1967 r 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN'TOR.

DRY F.

' Hm ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 339-8 4 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A coupling for connecting a vacuum cleaner hose with avacuum cleaner which provides an airflow passage as well as electriccoupling between conductors on the hose and a source of EMF in thecleaner and allows the hose to swivel relative to the cleaner. The hoseconductors are coupled with the source of EMF via slip rings in thecleaner to provide for swivel action of the hose.

Background of the invention A coupling for establishing an electricalconnection between the suction inlet of a vacuum cleaner and a vacuumcleaner hose, so that the hose is free to swivel relative to the cleanerto prevent kinking and in addition, when the hose is removed from thecleaner, the live contacts are not exposed or accessible to children orthe person using the cleaner. A coupling having these features isdisclosed in application Ser. No. 423,269, filed an. 4, 1965, now PatentNo. 3,339,168 issued Aug. 29, 1967. According to said application thecurrent conducting slip rings and swivel portion of the coupling areintegral with the hose, while the front cover of the cleaner, having thesuction inlet, is provided with a pivotal disc to cover the livecontacts when the hose is removed from the cleaner. The airflow currentconducting non-swiveling coupling of application Ser. No. 648,653, filedJune 26, 1967, now Patent No. 3,434,092, is adapted for use with asecond current conducting rotatable coupling provided at the bent endtube or hose handle remote from the cleaner as is disclosed inapplication Ser. No. 592,827, fiied Nov. 8, 1966, now Patent No.3,407,373 issued Oct. 22, 1968.

Each of the above-identified applications is assigned to the assigneehereof.

Summary of the invention The coupling according to this inventionprovides an airflow electric swivel coupling incorporated in the frontcover of a vacuum cleaner for optimum protection against damage, ease ofassembly and a long useful life. When an airflow electric swivelcoupling is incorporated in the vacuum cleaner hose it is morevulnerable to damage thereby increasing service and replacementproblems. According to the subject invention assembly is facilitated byplacing major components of the coupling in the front cover of thecleaner because space is not as limited in this location as it is on thehose and the parts can be made more massive for longer service life andthe increased weight is not as critical for the cleaner as it is for thehose. Finally the cost of replacing a hose, which has a shorter usefullife than the cleaner, is materally reduced since the hose has nocoupling to be replaced when the hose wears out.

An object of the invention therefore is to provide an improved currentconducting, rotatable airflow coupling for vacuum cleaner apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling of the typedescribed comprising a minimum number of components of simple design, ofinexpensive manu- 3,470,521 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 ICC facture andrequiring a minimum of assembly operations and/ or time for assembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling of the typedescribed in which live contacts are not exposed or readily accessiblewhen the coupling is disconnected,

Further objects and advantages of this invention as well as theforegoing objects will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of presently preferred embodiments illustrated in theaccompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view ofthe front cover of a vacuum cleaner showing a first embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken generally on section line 2, ofFIG. 1 and showing the end of a vacuum cleaner hose positioned forconnection with the front cover.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing details of a sub-assemblyillustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showfor a secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a sub-assembly illustrated in FIG. 4.

I FIG. 6 is a broken away perspective view of a third embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the third embodiment accordingto FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of a push connector for the coupling of FIGS.6 and 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view partly in section showing engagement ofthe blades of the push connector of FIG. 8 with the slip rings of theinlet conduit shown in FIG. 7.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments The vacuum cleaner shownin FIG. 1 comprises a body portion 10 housing a filter bag compartmentand motor blower unit as is well known. A front cover 11 is hinged (notshown) on the body 10' for removing and replacing filter bags as is alsowell known. The suction inlet and associated components of the cleaner,generally desig nated 12 are incorporated in the front cover 11 as seenin FIG. 2.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 the suction inlet 12 includes a cover plate 13and a rotating ring 14 including an electric receptacle 15 which may bemade integral with the ring 14. The receptacle-ring assembly 14, 15 isfreely rotatable about the suction inlet conduit 16 between the outerflanged end 16a thereof and the cover plate 13 as best seen in FIG. 2.The suction inlet conduit 16 is constituted of molded polymer materialwhich is configured internally for receiving the conventional pushconnector 30 attached to the end of the hose 31. The inlet conduit 16 isprovided on its exterior surface with a pair of slip rings 17 which areelectrically coupled in known manner to a current source within thecleaner (not shown). The slip rings 17 encircle the conduit 16 and areheld in place on the inlet conduit in any suitable manner. As best seenin FIG. 3, a pair of spring contacts 18, carried by an inner body 19 ofinsulating material, engage the slip rings and electrically couple theslip rings 17 with the sleeve contacts 20 of the female receptacle 15via a pair of short lengths of wire 21.

From the above description of FIGS. 1-3 it will be apparent that therotatable parts include the ring 14, female receptacle 15 including theprojection or spacer 15b extending axially beyond the ring 14 and alsothe pair of reinforcing blades 15a. The blades 15a are received in theslots 19a of the inner body 19 during assembly and the inner body isplaced in the inner body container 23. The inner body 19 is removablyfastened in the container 23 in any suitable manner, for example aself-threading screw such as indicated in FIG. 3.

When the inner body 19 is placed on the blades 15a and the blades 15aand body 19 are lowered into the container 23 and secured together bymeans of the screw, the sub-assembly of FIG. 3 is sufliciently rigid inthe longitudinal plane to minimize flexure in use. Any flexing which maybe encountered under extreme conditions can be compensated by thecontacts 18 which are spring biased and free to move radially relativeto the inner body 19. Thus, even if the inner body flexed away from theslip rings 17 the contacts 18 would remain in contact with the sliprings. As indicated in the drawing the receptacle 15, ring 14, spacer15b and blades 15a may be molded as an integral unit as is well known inthe molding art.

The cover plate 13 may be provided with an inwardly extendingcylindrical portion 13a to provide a large supporting or bearing surfacefor the spacer 15b, the inner surface of which is spaced from theadjacent surface of the inlet conduit 16.

Assembly is accomplished by placing the receptacle 15 and the elementsintegral therewith (14, 15a, 15b) onto an inlet conduit 16 (separatedfrom the front cover) and after the slip rings 17 have been attached.The cover plate 13 is then slipped over the inlet conduit from the righthand end as seen in FIG. 1. This sub-assembly is then inserted into theopening in the front cover 11 from the front, or left side of FIG. 1.The inner body 19 is then attached to the blades 15a and the container23 assembled from the rear of the front cover. An insulator retainingring 24 is then fastened in place to suitable fittings or posts 25integral with the front cover casting as is well known.

In operation, the push connector 30 on the end of the hose 31 (FIG. 2)is inserted into the suction inlet conduit 16 and the collar 32including a male plug portion having blades 32a makes electric contactwith the sleeves 20 of the receptacle 15. The hose conductors (notshown) are thereby coupled with a source of EMF within the cleaner 10via the sub-assembly shown in FIG. 3 and the slip rings 17. If the hoseis rotated relative to the cleaner the sub-assembly (FIG. 3) rotatesabout the suction inlet without disturbing the flow of electric currentthrough the coupling. When the hose is removed the live contacts orsleeves 20 are recessed in the receptacle 20 thereby preventingaccidental contact by the user or small children.

Another embodiment FIGS. 4 and relate to another embodiment of a currentconducting rotatable airflow coupling for a vacuum cleaner in which therotatable parts are all located in a recess 112 of the front cover ofthe cleaner 111, opening outwardly or to the exterior rather than havingsome of these parts inside the front cover as described above. In thisembodiment the suction inlet is defined by the inlet conduit 116 whichprojects through an appropriate opening in the front cover 111 into therecess 112 defined by the concave walls of the front cover. The outeredge of the conduit '116 is substantially in the plane of the foremostsurface of the front cover or plane AA shown in FIG. 4. The conduit 116is attached to the front cover in any suitable way such as by means of alock nut 124 and associated threaded portion of the conduit whereby theconduit is clamped in place. A pair of slip rings 117 encircle theconduit 116 and are connected with a source of EMF by known means. Theslip rings 117 in this embodiment are placed in a recess for increasedinsulation purposes. A ring 114 and female receptacle 115 may consist ofa single molded piece containing spring contacts 118 and sleeve contacts120 electrically interconnected by conductors 121, or these rotatableparts may consist of built-up parts as described in connection with 4FIG. 3. In either case the ring 114 is rotatable on the outer end of thesuction conduit 116 between an insulation washer 127 and the flange116a.

The embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 is assembled by slipping thesub-assembly shown in FIG. 5 over a suction conduit 116 separated fromthe front cover, the spring contacts 118 being held in retractedposition by means of a suitable tool as is well known. The conduit 116,carrying the ring 114 and receptacle 115, is inserted in the opening ofthe front cover from left to right as viewed in FIG. 4 and fixed inplace by the lock nut 126. The lock nut 126 draws a shoulder of theconduit against the washer 1-27 thereby clamping the suction conduit 116onto the cover 111.

Operation of the device is the same as indicated above, i.e., when thehose 31 and collar 32 rotate the ring 114 and receptacle also rotateabout the conduit 116 while maintaining the current connections betweenthe blades 32a and sleeve contacts 120 of receptacle 115 and the sourceof EMF within the cleaner. Rotation of the push connector 30 within theconduit 116 is provided in the well known manner and is therefore notshown in the drawing.

Another embodiment A further embodiment of a current conducting,rotatable airflow coupling is illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8 which issubstantially completely enclosed in the front cover 211 of a vacuumcleaner. In this embodiment the conventional male and female electriccoupling is replaced by the electric coupling described in copendingapplication Ser. No. 648,653 wherein the end of hose 231 (FIG. 8) havingthe push connector 230 is provided with a pair of radially projectingcontact blades 240 which pass into the axially extending slots 241 in arotatable portion 216a of the suction inlet conduit 216, and engage theslip rings 217 (FIG. 9). The suction inlet portion 216a is rotatablysupported in any suitable manner between the fixed portion 216 of thesuction inlet conduit and the retaining plate 242 which is held inposition by spacers 244. The retaining ring 243, which engages the latchof the push connector so that the hose is held in place is well known,rotates with the rotatable suction conduit portion 216a. A pair ofspring contacts 218 supported on an insulating block 245 which may beintegral with the flange 242 of the inlet 216, slidably engage the sliprings 217 and are connected to a source of EMF by the wires shown inFIG. 6. The spring contacts 218 may continuously engage the slip rings217 as indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7, however it is also contemplated thatblock 245 may be pivotally attached to the flange 242 of the suctionconduit 216 so that the block moves the contacts 218 onto the slip rings217 only when the push connector is in the suction inlet circuit, forexample by means of a lever (not shown) connected to the block andextending into the suction inlet for engagement with the push connector.When the push connector is removed the spring contacts are lifted fromthe slip rings by a spring biased hinge (not shown) connecting the block245 to flange 242. A known mechanical or magnetic arrangement may beutilized to move the contact block 245 for engaging and disengagingcontacts 218 and slip rings 217.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that variousarrangements may be utilized in carrying out the invention in practiceand that certain of the various details described may be altered.

What is claimed is:

1. In a current conducting rotatable airflow coupling for a vacuumcleaner, the improvement comprising a suction inlet conduit on saidvacuum cleaner; a first collector means including a pair of slip ringsconnected with said suction inlet conduit and .a spring contact engagingeach said slip ring, a rotatable body connected with one of saidcollector means for providing relative rotational movement between saidslip rings and said spring contacts, conductor means for connecting oneof said collector means with a source of EMF within said vacuum cleaner,a vacuum cleaner hose means receivable in said suction inlet conduit,and second means for electrically connecting said hose conductors withsaid source of EMF via said slip rings and spring contacts.

2. In a current conducting rotatable airflow coupling according to claim1 wherein said suction inlet conduit has one end extending axiallybeyond said cleaner spaced from said slip rings; said rotatable bodycomprises a ring encircling said suction inlet conduit adjacent saidaxially extending end, said rotatable body also having an axiallyextending member connected with said ring and movably overlying saidslip rings; said member having said spring contacts connected therewithfor engaging said slip rings, said second means comprising a male plugterminal for said hose conductors and a female receptacle connected withsaid ring and projecting axially beyond said suction inlet conduit forelectrically coupling said hose conductors with said spring contacts.

3. In a current conducting rotatable airflow coupling according to claim1 wherein said suction inlet conduit has one end extending axiallybeyond said cleaner and said slip rings are connected on the axiallyextending end of said suction inlet conduit; said rotatable bodycomprises an annulus rotatably overlying said slip rings, said annulushaving said spring contacts connected therewith for engaging said sliprings; said second means comprising a female receptacle connected withsaid ring, said receptacle extending axially beyond the end of saidsuction inlet conduit, and a male plug terminal for said 6 hoseconductors for electrically coupling said hose conductors with saidfemale receptacle.

4. In a current conducting rotatable airflow coupling according to claim1 wherein saidrotatable body comprises a generally cylindrical memberdefining a coaxial portion of said suction inlet conduit, means forrotatably supporting said cylindrical member as a portion of saidsuction inlet conduit; said slip rings being connected with saidcylindrical portion, said spring contacts being coupled with said sourceof EMF and supported on said fixed portion of said suction inletconduit, and a pair of axially extending slots in said cylindricalportion terminating in an opening in said suction inlet closed by saidslip rings; said second means comprising a pair of radially extendingcontact blades thereon coupled with said hose conductors, said contactblades geing received in said slots for engaging said slip rings wherebysaid hose conductors are electrically coupled with said source of EMF.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,072,690 3/1937 Smellie 33916 X,3,034,085 5/1962 Pauler et al. 339--l6 3,339,168 8/1967 Belicka et al339l5 X RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

